New Zealand's central bank delayed raising rates on Wednesday as policymakers quickly shifted gears after the country was put into a snap COVID-19 lockdown over a handful of new cases, but the bank still expects a hike before year-end.
However, New Zealand's first local COVID-19 infection in six months, and a snap lockdown ordered for the entire nation on Tuesday hosed down those expectations and forced policymakers to confront the risk of a potentially premature move now."Today’s decision was made in the context of the government’s imposition of Level 4 COVID restrictions on activity across New Zealand," RBNZ's monetary policy committee said in a statement.
The Pacific island's decision to delay policy tightening underscored growing global concerns over the spread of the Delta variant in several countries, sapping confidence in financial markets which had only recently bet on a strong revival in world growth.
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